EDITORIAL: 2013 drama for Navarre, Laurel Hill

Published: Monday, December 31, 2012 at 09:14 AM.

The new year will see two battles over incorporation in Northwest Florida. People in the Navarre area are pushing to establish a city government. People in Laurel Hill are working to dismantle one. The first group wants to live in a city — with the accompanying taxes, services and sense of political self-determination — while the second group wants to opt out.
It will be useful if these debates focus on the values of municipal government vs. living in an unincorporated area. Are the services that are available worth paying higher taxes? Are city officials more responsive to citizens’ needs than county officials operating out of a county seat many miles away?
It will be less useful if the debates get mired in politics: Who will grab the reins of power in the new city of Navarre? Who will fill the power vacuum that’ll be left if Laurel Hill is dissolved?
Either way, 2013’s dual duels over incorporation should be fascinating to watch.

Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published
without permission. Links are encouraged.

The new year will see two battles over incorporation in Northwest Florida. People in the Navarre area are pushing to establish a city government. People in Laurel Hill are working to dismantle one. The first group wants to live in a city — with the accompanying taxes, services and sense of political self-determination — while the second group wants to opt out.
It will be useful if these debates focus on the values of municipal government vs. living in an unincorporated area. Are the services that are available worth paying higher taxes? Are city officials more responsive to citizens’ needs than county officials operating out of a county seat many miles away?
It will be less useful if the debates get mired in politics: Who will grab the reins of power in the new city of Navarre? Who will fill the power vacuum that’ll be left if Laurel Hill is dissolved?
Either way, 2013’s dual duels over incorporation should be fascinating to watch.